“A
pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston S. Churchill
Keith
Jarrett’s The Köln Concert is a
remarkable piece of music. It has substance technically, and it is a prime
example of a when all the circumstances align, good and bad, to create a masterpiece
that defines a genre. As much as ECM is enjoying a creative resurgence over the
last few years, this record is still ECM’s best-selling record without a
question. When I first listened to the record I was struck by the range of
genres that Jarrett draws from and utilizes. Clearly it is a jazz record, but
within that he shows us aspects of classical, gospel, blues, and rock. I
listened to it a lot. As with many records, the more I listened the more it
seemed to open up for me and reveal new secrets and treasures. This was before
I really knew the story of the circumstances around the recording, which in my
opinion makes the record even more remarkable.
In January of 1975, Keith Jarrett, suffering from a
lack of sleep and severe back pain,
arrived in Cologne (Köln)
Germany to play a concert at the Opera House. To his dismay he discovered that
the piano he requested to play had not been obtained, but instead, a smaller,
inferior piano in need of repair had been wheeled on stage. Faced with either
the prospect of cancelling the show or performing on the smaller, inadequate instrument
he chose to perform on the ailing piano. Certain characteristics of the piano
were weak: the bass register was underwhelming, the high register was thin and
frail, forcing him to play the majority of the music in the middle register. In
addition the sustain pedal, which allows a piano player to hold out notes for
extended durations, was malfunctioning. Which brings me to the quote at the
top. For whatever reason Keith Jarrett decided to play this concert as opposed
to cancelling it, and we have the legendary result.
ECM is
a label that has a different philosophy than some other jazz labels. They did
not have the blues, swing, or style of Blue Note, or the new funk of the CTI
label. Rather ECM had a concept of reflection and meditativeness, or awareness.
This awareness was balanced with a coolness and a distance. This concept was
often reinforced with a naturalistic cover art that showed a harsh and bleak
northern European outdoors. An exception was made for the cover art for The Köln Concert. It features a black
and white photo of Jarrett with his head slumped over, playing the piano. He
seems immersed or entranced. Rather than market the distant landscapes of an
icy north ECM chose to market a personality. It seemed to work. The sales have
been prolific.
It has
been said that this record was one of the bedrock records for “New Age” music. However
ECM’s cerebral detachment and headiness is the opposite of music that is put on
for yoga, inspiration, or stress management. This record may be in the center
of a certain Venn diagram that allows for people to speculate that it is “New
Age” but they would be mistaken. The musical language is too sophisticated.
This record might be in somebody’s record collection next to Ornette Coleman,
Black Sabbath, or George Winston. It
has also earned a reputation as chillout record or stoner record. So yes it has
a reputation, but to dismiss it as “New Age” would be incorrect.
The
concert is divided into four parts. Over two LPs Pt. 1 takes up side A, and
then Pt. 2 is split into A, B, and C, over the three remaining sides (or tracks
on CD). Part One begins with a reflective and melancholic melodic exploration.
This gives way to a progression of major chords that leads to a brief ostinato,
or recurring melodic motif. After the ostinato, melodic ideas and runs begin to
occur. The right hand flourishes gain in frequency over a left hand ostinato and
then start to fade out. These cascading runs continue for a few minutes then
the intensity of the ostinato increases by way of thickening chords. Jarrett
must sustain all the motion and energy with his fingers since the sustain pedal
is broken, which makes the pure sound generated much more impressive. Around
the 11-minute mark, harmonic variety is introduced and changes the tone of the
piece. Instead of just alternating between a few chords he allows a progression
to develop, which allows a broadness and depth into the music. Near the 15-minute
mark another slower, reflective section is introduced. He explores the upper
register of the piano in a way that would not necessarily exploit its
deficiencies. By gently probing the upper register and not exploring it in full
force he can make the instrument speak without making it sound overly trebly.
Much of the chordal movement in the next few minutes seems to be an exploration
of the mid register and low register, a gauging of the piano’s capabilities. At
the 21-minute mark another ostinato, or rhythmic bed is established. This
ostinato is a thicker bed, in the middle register where the piano is most
fundamentally sound. The vamp gradually expands with melodic statements, explorations
into the bass region, and increases in density through rhythmic activity. This
motif closes out the first improvisation.
Pt. 2 A
begins with Jarrett again setting up a rhythmic figure in his left hand which
he can play a short melody over and begin to improvise. He sets up the tonality
and mood by repeating the melody a few times and letting the vamp settle over
the first minute and a half. He then begins to improvise with quite a bit of
energy. At almost six minutes into the improvisation Jarrett seems to work into
some block chords that provide relief from the rhythmic figure for a moment;
they also provide a glimpse of a different texture, one that he will work his
way towards. He then returns to the ostinato with more vigor and reinforces the
figure in the bass register to work it to a climax. Around eight minutes into
the piece he shifts moods to a much more somber, exploratory, and harmonically
rich improvisation. The melody jumps between registers as chords search for
resolution, giving the section its weighty feel. Eventually, with a couple
minutes left in the track, a theme in a major, more hopeful-sounding key is
incorporated. Jarrett works thru the resolution and the track ends, suspended
in the high register of the piano. The track was originally split to be placed
on LP and even listening on CD when looking at the tracks switching over it
makes the listener consider if the cuts are precise, or if they left a second
or more out.
Pt. 2 B
starts out firmly in a minor key and Jarrett once again sets up a vamp that he
can improvise over. He stays in this intense atmosphere for six or seven
minutes before expanding the harmony further out in a minimalist expansion. He
uses full chords in the midrange of the piano at loud volume for maximum emotional
intensity. To compensate for the broken sustain pedal he uses a rocking set of
inner voices creating a sound reminiscent of minimalist composers Steve Reich
or Philip Glass but with more harmonic motion. Just before the 12-minute mark a
new major, or lighthearted, theme is introduced. This is my personally my
favorite track. It seems as if he has figured out the instrument and opened up
the faucet of his creativity. The improvisation content of these next few
minutes always blows me away if I am listening carefully.
The
record has an additional track but I am out of space. I could write more about
it but you should listen to it. It’s inspired; it is great music. Plus, it
almost never happened! In his book Free
Jazz Ekkehard Jost suggests “In Jazz it is not always appropriate to
ascribe the initiative for shaping new principles of creation, or abandoning
old ones, to an individual or a small circle of innovators.” His theory is that
only in the “rarest instances” does an individual provide a beacon of genre
defining work. It seems to me as if The
Köln Concert captures one of these rare instances.
-
Doug Anderson
